Thursday, 19 March 2015

Finally - Operation Day is here!

That is right. You read it correctly. Today the doctors have scheduled Jadon to have his plication surgery. He is tentatively scheduled to go in to the operating room around 3. The surgery is apparently quite straight forward and he should be in and out in less than 2 hours total. However, we are still somewhat nervous as Jadon has often had complications from many of the procedures over the last month.

This past week has been a real roller-coaster. Thursday and Friday were pretty good days. The weekend was not. Friday overnight Jadon had several dirty diapers in a row and so he was put back in isolation. On Saturday, Jadon had a significant desaturation episode. As a result, he had to go up on his ventilator settings and his sedation. His right lung was not working much and he also had significant swelling in his abdomen and chest. Over the next couple of days he got ultrasound of abdomen and chest, an echo (ultrasound of the heart) and two bronchoscopies (go into his lungs with a camera/suction combination). The second bronchoscopy yesterday was intended to try and 'recruit' the right lung better. They also started him on some new medication to help clear up his right lung. The good news is that some of these procedures have helped. His fever is now either gone or low grade. His right lung has cleared up somewhat. The doctors feel that this is a good window to do his plication and so we are scheduled for this afternoon.

The surgery involves pulling down Jadon's paralyzed left diaphragm and
sewing it there. This will allow more room for his left lung to open,
meaning he will be able to get more air into the lung. This in turn
will allow for better oxygenation of his blood, and therefore hopefully
allow him to get off of the ventilator and breathing completely on his
own.

Please continue to pray for Jadon and for help for the surgeons and doctors. As you know Jadon's right lung is small and so he really needs the left lung to be able to function also. That is the aim of this surgery.